Thread-guide holder.



No. 806,443. Y PATENTED DEC. 5, 1905.

' I B. TOMPKINS.

THREAD GUIDE HOLDER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 15, 1904.

' I amen/ 3oz 57/7662 75mph) w av /Q15 PATENT OFFICE.

ERNEST TOMPKINS, OF TROY, NEW YORK.

THREAD-GUIDE HOLDER;

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ERNEST TOMPKINS, of Troy, in the county of Rensselaer and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Thread-Guide Holders; and I hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference. being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification.

This invention relates to textile machinery, and in particular to circular-knitting machines; and its object is to improve the thread guides or eyes of such machine, so that such guides may be readily adjusted to any desired position, either toward or from the table and also around the table. The guides are also made readily removable without disturbing the rails on which they are supported. Each guide is independent of the others and is held securely in position, cannot swing or drop down, and

is not obstructed by the rails or supports to which it is attached.

The invention therefore consists in the novel construction of the thread guides or threadtion of one of. the thread-eyes or guides and the support therefor attached to the table of a knitting-machine, the latter being indicated in section. Fig. 2 is a detailed section on line 2 2, Fig.1. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a guide and its bracket detached. Fig. 4 is a detailed plan view showing the guide-supports as arranged underneath the top of an ordinary knitting-machine table and also showing some of the guides attached to said supports.

On opposite sides of the knitting-machine table and below the top thereof Isecure bars or supports, as I shall hereinafter call them, B, which are preferably square or angular in cross-section and extend the entire length of the table and have their ends B bent around the ends of the table and extending to about Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 15, 1904:. Serial No. 220,832.

Patented Dec. 5, 1905.

The inner ends of studs C are reduced in diameter and threaded and are passed through holes a in the depending side flanges A of the table. Thesupports B are thus rigidly secured below the table-top A adjacent to the lower edge of the flanges A, the studs 0 being secured by nuts 0, as shown, On these supports B may be placed any desired number of adjustable and removable brackets D, to which the thread guides or eyes E are attached, as hereinafter explained.

Each bracket D is provided with'an upper member D, adapted to overlie the supportB,

and an under member D which underlies the support B, these two members being rigidly connected by a front member or web portion. The upper member D has a lip d. which is adapted to catch over the, rear edge of the support B' andprevent the bracket slipping forward 01f the support. After the bracket is adjusted to the proper position longitudinally of the support B it can be secured by means of a bolt 0Z tapped through the lower part D ,as indicated in the drawings. Through this part D at one side of the bolt 41 is an opening or aperture d, which extends horizontally below the support B and at right angles to the bolt d Through this opening is passed the stem 6 of the thread guide or eye E, which may. be conveniently made of wire,

as indicated in the drawings, this particular form of guide being per 86 old.

It will be observed from Fig. 1 of the drawings that the guide E lies in aplane below the support Band the lower edge of the web A of the table, and this permits the guide E to be adjusted horizontally toward or from the bracket D, so as to bring its eye to any desired position relative to the edge of the table without having to move the support B or the bracket D, and when the guide has been prop-L erly adjusted on the bracket D it maybe secured by means of the bolt d tapped through the side of the bracket, as shown in the drawings.

The bracket D, as shown, has no swinging or rocking motion on the support D; but when bolt d is loosened the bracket and attached guidecan be adjusted to any desired position In practice any desired number of these brackets and guides may be attached to the supports B and can be spaced properly apart by adjusting the brackets laterally on the sup- IIO ports. Then the guide-eyes can be adjusted properly by loosening the bolt 0Z and slipping their stems through the openings 03. In ordinary practice the bobbins (which are arranged below the guides and are not shown in the drawings) are arranged so that it is desirable to have the alternate guides at different distances from the table edge viewed vertically. This adjustment or arrangement of guides is easily obtained by the capability of adjustment alforded by the openingd and bolt 6Z3. Any desired number of guides may be used, and their relation and adjustment can be readily changed, as is obvious, and the number of guides employed can be always made to correspond to the number of bobbins. It is unnecessary to remove or adjust the supportsB when it is desired to remove or adjust any guide, as it is simply necessary to loosen the bolts (Z 653. In like manner more guides can be added when desired by hooking them onto the supports, as is evident.

In Fig. 4: the guides are shown as adjusted to accommodate an arrangement of two rows of bobbins, (not shown;) but, if desired, all the guide-eyes could be adjusted in alinement in one row, or they can be alined in more than two rows.

My improved guides afford the greatest facility for variation in number and adjustment. Once adjusted they remain permanently and fixedly in their positions without any liability to disarrangement, and each guide is adjustable, attachable, and detachable independently of the others.

While I have described the guides as particularly applied to a knitting-machine, obviously they could be applied to other machines where such guides would be useful-as, for example, to bobbin-winding and spooling machines.

I do not wish to restrict myself to the specific form of supports, brackets, and guides shown in the drawings, as these could be varied within the scope of my invention as defined in the following claims.

Having thus described my invention,what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of a table, a threadguide-supporting bar fixedly attached to said table and having its ends bent around the ends thereof, a series of independently-adjustable brackets attached to said bar, and threadguides having stems passed through apertures or openings in the brackets below the plane of the supporting-bar, whereby the guideeyes are adjustable toward or from the bar, and means for locking said guides when adjusted.

2. The combination with a kuitting-machine table, of thread-guide-sup1')orting bars lixedl y attached to the sides of said table and having their ends bent around its ends, a series of independently-adjustable brackets, each independently attachable to and. detachable from said bars, bolts for locking said brackets when adjusted, adjustable thread guides having stems passed through openings in the brackets at right angles to'the bars, and means for locking said guides when adjusted.

3. The combination with a lniitting-machine table, of a thread-gnide-supporting bar attached to the side thereof and having its ends bent around the ends of the table, the adjust able brackets detachabl y attached to said support and thread-guides adjustably attached to said brackets in a plane below the supportingbar.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ERNEST TOMPKJNS. In presence of- WILLIAM J on, HARRY C. W ILCOX. 

